24
NOVEMBER 2021
INTRODUCING .... JOHN
In a new segment to the Journal we are highlighting new members and putting them under the
spotlight to find out more about them! This month we are asking some questions to John and
Lee Ann who recently attended the Back to the Bush event on John’s R1250 GS.
throttle pegged wide open, the vibrations would die away once it got above a certain speed. It all came to a screeching halt one evening as I made a top speed run down the length of the park. There was a BANG and the bike lost all power. I thought I’d blown it up, but the motor looked intact. The zip start felt funny though, and about 30 minutes of head scratching later I noticed that the spark plug was missing. Later found it embedded in the underside of the seat. That could have been an “ouch” moment 😊
So guys, welcome to the BMWMCQ! Tell us about the bike, it’s a beauty!
I
t’s a 2019 R1250GS Adventure. Bought from a dealer on the NSW / Victorian border (Blacklocks I think) in May 2020 – when retail was still reeling from the onset of the pandemic. The bike was a dealer demo with about 600km on the odometer and came with the panniers and tank bag for a great price. I’ve always wanted a GS. The adventure bike style fits with my love of exploration and adventure. Like so many others, I watched “Long Way Round” and fell in love with the concept of a bike that could legitimately “ride around the world” The bike took six weeks to arrive from the dealer – the longest six weeks in living memory. By the time it arrived I’d read the manual cover to cover twice, read all the reviews and literature, and joined every relevant facebook group I could find. Tell us about your riding background John? My first motorbike was a secondhand minibike I acquired sometime in the late 70’s. Unbranded, no suspension, no gears, and dodgy looking welds all over the place. Thinking back now, it may have been homemade. It was fitted with a Victa 2 stroke engine that was probably borrowed from a lawnmower. I used to push this contraption down to my local park / football field after school and do laps on it until it got dark. The bike used to get some severe vibrations through the seat and handlebars at high speed, but I pretty quickly learnt that if I kept the
Work and relationships took priority once I finished school but the love of riding and exploration was always present. I’d acquire an old bike (mostly 250cc 2-stroke road bikes) and ride them in the bush near a friend’s place at Yamanto. I quickly figured out I could get from there to near Beaudesert on tracks and dirt roads. I loved those weekends. Just me, the bike, and so much bush criss-crossed with tracks begging to be explored. A couple of bigger road bikes followed in the 80’s and 90’s, but the one that really stands out was a Suzuki GSX 250 (a 4 stroke twin bike really designed for commuting). I bought it from a dealer in Adelaide, spent a month working on it, then road it back to Brisbane via Mildura, Dubbo, and Tamworth. No GPS in those days – navigation was via service station tourist maps (hence the nonoptimal route). I’d fitted some soft saddle bags to this thing, packed a cheap tent and sleeping bag, a change of clothes and just headed off. The feeling of freedom that enveloped me was profound. I felt free. The trip took me five days, cost $49.05 in fuel (I know, right!), made me deal with two flat tyres, and took me through Tamworth as the National Country and Western music festival was in full swing. To my eyes, the place looked to be wall-to-wall Harley Davidsons. Fast forward another 20 years and I decided it was time for another bike (and my license). My drivers license had the learners endorsement on it for as long as I could remember, but I wasn’t familiar with the current licensing requirements. I googled courses, found an RE course that sounded about right, and off I went. The course was enormous fun. My first time on
